Environmental labs help companies take next step after spills, leaks

Published 6:00 pm, Saturday, January 23, 2010

By Mella McEwen

Oil Editor

Oilfield site assessment and cleanup that meets regulatory approval can be tricky, particularly since different agencies have different standards.

For instance, said Brent Barron, corporate technical director of Xenco Laboratories and laboratory manager of its Odessa facility, Environmental Lab of Texas, the Railroad Commission doesn't require that environmental laboratories such as his be certified where as "anything going to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, they require that the lab be certified."

Barron is set to present a program on environmental analysis in the oil field to members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers' Environmental Study Group on Thursday, January 28 at the Petroleum Professional Development Center, 105 W. Illinois Street beginning at 11:30 a.m.

"You need to get to know the lab you use," he advised.

His company's primary business, he said, is environmentally-driven, not necessarily oil driven.

"The analyses are similar but some clean-up requirements are different," he said. "We use some of the same instrumentation as CSI but different procedures and timeframes," he added with a laugh.

Preservation and the holding time for soil, water and sludge samples is key to getting accurate results, he said. "It's not good to have it rolling around the back of a pick-up for a couple of days."

His lab, Barron said, analyzes anything from pipeline or salt water spills to tank battery explosions. "We receive groundwater samples, surface water, soil, even tank bottoms," he said. "But the majority we receive is soil and water samples."

Samples can be analyzed to help companies determine the extent of a leak. Barron explained that his clients have to be able to determine the extend of the damage of a leak or spill and provide a plan to clean and contain the leak or spill.

"They bring us the sample to see if the contents are below or above regulatory guidelines," he said. "We provide the data and that helps them determine their next step."

Soil samples - in four-ounce jars - no five-gallon buckets please, he said - packed as tightly as possible with as little air as possible can be brought in as-is for certain tests for chloride analysis. For tests on organics analyzing hydrocarbons like benzenes found in gasoline or light crudes, water should be brought in vials with zero head space and no air and soil, again in four-ounce jars packed as tightly as possible. Both water and soil samples should be brought in at temperatures of 6 degrees Centigrade or below. In fact, he said, all samples, regardless of the desired tests, should be brought in at that temperature. The TCEQ, he noted, won't accept results from samples above that temperature.

"If a sample is pulled within a couple of hours, it's impossible for it to cool that much, but if it's on ice and yet below 6 degrees Centigrade, we can note it's not below that threshold but the cooling process has begun," Barron said.

The goal of the presentation, said Barron, is not only to help clients provide the proper samples but to help environmental laboratories such as his by helping establish protocols for standardized samples.

Xenco, he said, wasn't really impacted by the downturn in the oil and gas industry, though business has been slower recently, which he attributes to the recent colder, wetter weather.

"It's a new world every day," said Barron, who has over 22 years experience in the field.

Reservations for the luncheon should be made by Tuesday, January 26 by calling 683-1100. Cost is $20.